Agency News

HIGH-SUGAR PRODUCT MANUFACTURERS BUCK “WARNING” MARK ON LABELS

The sugar sweetened beverage industry, which has been reeling from the impact of TRAIN 1, has opposed to putting a “warning” or “caution” mark for high-sugar content products, but agreed that sugar content in the label will be prominently displayed in the front of the product. This developed after the industry met Wednesday with Trade and Industry Secretary Ramon M. Lopez to discuss the sugar content labeling requirement in consultation also with the Food and Drugs Administration. To ensure consumers are properly informed, Lopez said the label will indicate sugar grammage content per pack like “This pack contains ____ gm sugar” or “_____gm per serving (200ml).” But the government agencies and the industry will still determine which particular products should have a front label “High in Sugar” and indicate the sugar content. Proper product labeling is part of the labeling and fair packaging under Article 74 of the Consumer Act of the Philippines, which provides compulsory labeling and fair packaging to obtain accurate info on nature and quantity of the contents of various products.